Sustainable fashion in India is real in some mills and marketing in others. What mills can offer includes organic cotton, Better Cotton, recycled polyester and cotton, lower-water dyeing and finishing, and chemical management programmes. Each of these has a certification route, and without a certificate it is only a claim.
The practical approach is to decide which claim you need, then ask for the certificate that supports it.
Which fibre options exist?
Organic cotton is grown under certified organic standards, and sourcing it from India needs careful verification, covered in how to verify organic cotton. Better Cotton is a programme that works with farmers on better practices, and it is not the same as organic; see Better Cotton in Indian mills.
Recycled polyester and recycled cotton are also available, as in recycled polyester from Surat mills.
Traceability is the weak point in most claims. A mill can hold a valid certificate and still buy uncertified input for a particular order if the paperwork is not matched to the lot. Ask how the mill separates certified and non-certified material in the plant, and ask for the transaction certificate that follows your goods. A buyer who asks these questions early rarely has a problem at the import stage.
What about dyeing and finishing?
Dyeing and finishing use a lot of water, energy and chemicals, so this is where much of the environmental impact sits. Mills now offer water recycling, lower-liquor dyeing machines and lower-impact finishing. In denim, laser and ozone treatments replace some stone washing, as described in sustainable denim.
Some brands also ask suppliers to follow a chemical management programme. Ask which restricted-substance list the mill follows and for recent test results.
Ask also about effluent treatment, since a mill that dyes without proper treatment is a reputational risk for you, whatever the fibre. A visit or an audit should cover the treatment plant, discharge records and the permits the mill holds from the pollution control authority. This is basic due diligence and it is part of how we audit textile processors.
Which certificates mean what?
The labels are easy to confuse. In brief:
- GOTS covers organic fibre and the processing of finished textiles, including social criteria.
- OCS verifies the organic fibre content of a product, but not the processing.
- GRS and RCS cover recycled content and its chain of custody.
- OEKO-TEX tests for harmful substances in the product and is not an organic or recycled claim.
How do you verify a claim?
Ask for the scope certificate and the transaction certificate for your shipment, and check both with the certifier's own database. Our guide to the difference between GOTS, OCS and OEKO-TEX sets out what each proves.
Rules on environmental claims are tightening in some markets, so confirm the wording you plan to use with your adviser. You, as the importer or brand, are responsible for what you tell the customer.
Next step
We find mills with current certificates, check them with the certifier and have lots tested. Book a free sourcing review and tell us which claims you need.